iSIQUIJOR Information is our business.
THE OFFICIAL E-NEWSLETTER OF THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.PIA.GOV.PH and the DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - SIQUIJOR | WWW.DOST.GOV.PH VOL. 06| No. 10 March 20-27, 2018
Feature: “Ding” inspires women as equal to men Ding. Siquijor folks love to call her by the name. Maybe because of its intimate effect but personally to me, it has a ringing, powerful sound particularly from a mother, a wife, a woman of her caliber. Meet Gladys Flora Estrellada. Gladly “Ding” for short — Siquijor Island’s former Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator and this year’s speaker at the 2018 National Women’s Month provincial celebration. She acts powerfully and talks eloquently. If she wants to stress something, she gets her way and speaks really insistently. That’s where, whoever authored the name “Ding”, must have gotten. I’m talking about her persistent echoing of the quality of women that she shared, quite biblically, at the provincial government-initiated Women’s Forum where she started with the story of creation. Woman, she said, was created as man’s partner or “kaabag” (being taken from his ribs) with equal rights, privileges and responsibilities. “Everything a man does, she should do,” she said pointing out the very core value of women in making decisions for herself and for men as she calls for full participation and partnership in nation building. Quoting from Proverbs 31, Gladys enumerated the quality of a woman as diligent and skilled craft person; landowner and successful business person; benefactor of the poor and the needy; and whose wisdom and opinion are respected. These qualities she inspiredly linked to what the world describes to women of today — Empowered Women, capable of making change, like Ding. (rac/ PIA7-Siquijor)
Retired Provincial Planning and Development Officer Gladys “Ding” Estrallada, in a pose with her two daughters who said they are celebrating International Women’s Day everyday. (arc/PIA7 Siquijor w/ photo from Faith Flora Estrellada)
iSIQUIJOR GOVERNMENTNEWS
Science & Technology
DOST-FPRDI testing labs support the forest-based and related industries The country’s furniture, pulp and paper, and plywood industries have found a partner in their bid to make it in the world market - the FTL or FPRDI Testing Laboratories of the Department of Science and Technology’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI). Certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) thru the Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB), the three laboratories (one each for furniture, pulp and paper, and plywood) conducted 1,394 tests for 515 customers last year, and earned an income of about Php 4.07 million. According to the FTLs’ Quality Manager Ms. Adela S. Torres, “Having
Mr. Freddie M. Ordinario conducts a test at the FPRDI Plywood Testing Laboratory.
their products tested by an ISO-certified lab ensures our clients that they get consistently valid results, and gives them the credibility they need to access new markets overseas, maintain their presence in old markets, and meet the demands of certain government agencies.” Customers who had their products assessed by an ISO-certified lab no longer need to have them re-tested since the standards used by these facilities are globally recognized. This saves time and money for exporters. “One of the the FTLs’ long-time clients is the government’s Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (DBM-PS),” relates Torres. “ The Service requires all its suppliers to submit samples of their paper products to DOST-FPRDI. Only those companies that pass the tests will qualify for public bidding. This centralized and direct purchase by the PS saves the government about 30% in the cost of its paper supplies.” For furniture products, on the other hand, only firms which meet the FTL’s evaluation can take part in the public bidding process of the Department of Education. The FTLs are ran under the DOST’s OneLab project, a platform which gives broader and more efficient public access to all of the Department’s testing services. DOST-FPRDI also offers wood identification, chemical, physical and mechanical, and bio-energy testing services for forest-based and related products and is currently working for the eventual ISO-accreditation of these. (Rizalina K. Araral, April 2, 2018)# Source: http://www.fprdi.dost.gov.ph/index.php/292-dost-fprdi-testing-labssupport-the-forest-based-and-related-industries
iSIQUIJOR
is the Island of Siquijor’s first electronic newsletter produced by the Philippine Information AgencySiquijor Information Center and the DOST - Provincial Science and Technology Center. It contains snippets of information about Siquijor, Central Visayas and the Philippine Government. THERE IS GOOD NEWS EVERYDAY.
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iSIQUIJORGOVERNMENTNEWS #Empowering Communities
PH’s health insurance programs benefit poor Filipino children—PIDS Filipino children from poor households who are part of the government’s health insurance program have increased access to health care, both for preventive and curative care. A recent study published by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) recognized the role that the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) has played in this positive impact. The 4Ps automatically enrolls beneficiaries to the country’s social health insurance program and requires preventive checkups for children aged 0 to 5 years old. In the discussion paper, authors PIDS Senior Research Fellow Michael Abrigo and Visiting Research Fellow Vicente Paqueo explained that, while there is no direct impact on morbidity, the results suggest that “the social health insurance and the CCT program, jointly, were able to induce greater Halad sa Katawhan and Job Bridging as part of the Siquijor hospital visits for both preventive and StateCollege’s (SSC) celebration of its 23rd Charter curative care, and lower out-of-pocket Anniversary.(rac/PIA7-Siquijor w/ photo from Jansean Brielle) expenditures.” Access to health care in developing countries is challenging. In the case of the Philippines, efforts to provide better health care can be traced back to as early as in the 70s. It has undergone various improvements, especially with the establishment of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) in 1995. According to the study, Filipino children who are insured are 8.7 to 12.8 percent more likely to visit a healthcare facility, compared to those who are non-insured. Furthermore, sick children who are insured are more likely to visit a health-care facility by about 18 to 30 percent, while those who are not sick are more likely to visit a health-care facility by 5.9 to 8.3 percent when they are insured. On the other hand, the authors noted the limited impact on preventive health care based on 2013 data, saying that the PHIC’s benefit packages for primary care checkups of sponsored members were “neither as extensive, generous, nor as well established” compared to inpatient care. In terms of health costs, the study observed a significant reduction in out-of-pocket spending and found that “insured children are 9.2 to 38.6 percent less likely to pay out-of-pocket expenses compared to non-insured children, depending on specification.” However, in terms of patient satisfaction, the study revealed that while there is an overall increase in the demand for health care, insured Filipino children from poor households “have lower propensity to indicate that they were satisfied with the service that they have had received during confinement.” Abrigo and Paqueo added that they are more likely to cite having uncaring or rude staff or unfair treatment as reasons, as well as the lack of availability of other health inputs, insufficient medicines, equipment, and staff. They also noted that insurance coverage alone is insufficient to improve access to health care and that there should be a confluence of three elements, namely, income effect, price effect, and information spillover, in designing better social health insurance programs. ### (This press release is based on the PIDS discussion paper titled “Social Protection and Access to Health Care among Children in the Philippines”)
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Cebuano News
Hearing sa usbaw sa suholan sa Abril 13
(PIA) -- Human sa usa ka tuig nga prohibisyon sa lain na usab nga hugna sa pag-usbaw sa suholan human napagawas ang Wage Order Number 20, dunggon sa Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board Region VII (RTWPB-7) ang pulso sa mga mamumuo aron ilhon ang mga implikasyon sa katapusang usbaw ug timbang-timbangon kon angayan bang ipatuman ang lain na usab nga pagtaas sa suholan sa mga inadlaw nga mamumuo. Matud ni RTWPB-7 Chairman Cyril Ticao, ila na nga nadawat sa Department of Labor and Employment Region 7 (DOLE-7) ang duha na ka hangyo sa lain na usab nga across the board daily wage adjustment. Segun pa ni Ticao, kinsa mao usab ang Officer In Charge Regional Director sa DOLE 7, ilang nadawat
dili moabut ang usa ka tuig human kini ikapatuman. Tungon niini, nahimo nga P323.00 ang inadlaw nga suholan sa mga mamumuo sa Bohol. Human na usab sa usa ka tuig, mihangyo na ang pipila ka bahan sa mga mamumuo sa laing usbaw dala sa nagkalisud nga kahimtang sa ilang kinabuhi. Tungod niini, milibot na usab ang RTWPB sa tibuok rehiyon aron kuhaon ang pulso sa mga mamumuo ug mga tagdumala sa mga negosyo ug mamumuhunan aron sabutan ang sunod nga mga lakang. Dala niini, sa Abril 13, kompleto ang bahan sa RTWPB nga modungog sa mga hunahuna og opinyton sa mga mamumuo sa usa ka tigum alang sa wage hearing didto sa MetroCenter Hotel ning syudad sa Tagbilaran. Sa mga pahibaw nga una na nga gipadala sa DOLE ug RTWPB ngadto sa mga hugpong sa mga maumuo, gihangyo na usab sa ahensya nga magduso na sila sa mga position tungod sa kakulian sa panglawas, papers nga suportahan sa mga datus ug mupadala lang ug letter request aron kasayuran aron maha-apil sa desisyon bisitahon sila sa ilang panimalay sa unya sa board. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol) mga empleyado sa GSIS. Kinahanglan nga adunay pensioners, mga pensyonado nga ga barangay certification o medical edad ug 80 anyos pataas nga adunay certificate ang pensyonado nga kakulian sa panglawas, legal guardian ipataban sa letter request kung dili (nga dili survivorship pensioner) sa kini makahimo pag adto sa GSIS or mga “incapacitated” o dependent nga GWAPS Kiosk. anak ug old age pensioner nga “active Paglabay sa tulo ka bulan nga members.” “reactivation period” gikan sa Marso Ang pensyonado nga 23, 2018 hangtud sa Hunyo 30, 2018) makahimo pa pag adto sa labing duol kinahanglan nga mo mopakita alang nga GSIS O GWAPS Kiosk gi-awhag sa Annual Pensioner’s Information nga mu APIR sila. Revalidation (APIR) ang pensyonado Sa dugang nga kasayoran atol sa iyang bulang natawhan kon mahimong tawagan ang GSIS pinaagi “birth month.” sa numero nga (035) 225-0370 o sa Ang mga mosunod “exempted” mobile phone nga 0926716283. (lpp/ o dili na kinahanglan nga mobisita PIA7/Negros Oriental) sa GSIS: permanent total disability ang P155.80 nga across the board wage adjustment gikan sa Cebu Labor Coalition, Lonbisco Employees Organization, Metaphil OWorkers Union, Nuwhrain Montebello Chapter, NLM Katipunan ug Unionbank Employees Association. Sa laing bahin, P120.00 nga across the board daily wage increase alang sa Region 7 ang gipangayo sa Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines / sa Elliptical Road sa Diliman Quezon City. Kahinumduman nga ang katapusan nga usbaw sa suholan nga miabut sa P13.00 amatag adlaw nga across the baord increase, gipatuman niadtong Marso 10, 2017, samtang human niadto, segun sa balaod, dili pa mahimong usbon ang pag-usbaw kon
Pensyonado gi-awhag mu APIR sa GSIS
DUMAGUETE CITY, Abril 10 (PIA) -- Sugod sa Marso 23 hangtud Hunyo 30, 2018 nag-awhag ang Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) sa mga “Old Age” ug “Survivorship” pensioner nga wala pa kaabot sa edad 80 anyos sa pagbisita sa opisina sa GSIS o pinaagi ba hinoon sa pag gamit sa GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (GWAPS) Kiosk aron ma revalidate ang ilang estado isip pensioner ug maseguro nga padayon nga madawat ang binulan nila nga pension. Importanteng pahimangno nga dad-on sa pensioner ang ilang GSIS UMID eCard ug kon nawala kini mahimong magpakita ug duha ka valid IDs. Sa mga dili makaadto sa opisina sa GSIS o sa GWAPS Kiosk